Condors Back in Second Place after Weekend Sweep

The Condors scored four times in the third period to thrust past the Ice Dogs on Friday night. They led 2-1 after 40 minutes, behind tallies by Paul Rosebush and Shawn Byram. In the final stanza, however, Bakersfield put up 16 shots and received two goals from Jason Ralph, including his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal of the season, another from Byram and one from Jeff Goldie. Kevin St. Pierre stopped 25 of 27 shots for his 27th win of the campaign. A crowd of over 7,500 fans packed Centennial Garden, and was entertained by SpongeBob Squarepants and Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, two stars with their own cartoons on Nickelodeon. It was the second largest crowd of the season for Bakersfield, and ranked in the top 10 in franchise history.

Bakersfield hosted the second of this two-game set with Long Beach on Saturday night, and gave rookie netminder Beau Fritz his first professional start. The Longmont, Colorado native withstood an early barrage of shots and kept the Ice Dogs off the board through more than two periods. Meanwhile, Nate Anderson and Quinn Fair both tallied in the middle frame to give Bakersfield the lead. As with the previous night, the Condors put it out of reach in the third, with three more goals from J.J. Wrobel, Guy Dupuis and Paul Rosebush. Fritz played a great game between the pipes, turning aside 33 of 35 shots for his first career victory. The Condors recorded 45 shots on Ice Dogs netminder Danielle Dube.

Sunday, February 23 Condors back in second place with big win

Sundays match in San Diego represented an opportunity for Bakersfield to move back into a tie for second place with a win, but they fell behind early in the first, as Mark Pederson tallied for San Diego less than seven minutes in. Late in the first, Jeff Goldie and Nate Anderson both redirected shots past Gulls goalie Cris Classen in a span of 36 seconds to lead after one period. The rest of the game belonged to Jamie Cooke. He notched three goals in the second period and one in the third as Bakersfield cruised to a 6-2 win. Paul Willett assisted on each of Cookes goals, while defenseman Guy Dupuis put up three assists. Kevin St. Pierre stopped 33 shots in setting a new franchise mark for wins in a season, collecting his 28th of the year.

This Week

Bakersfield takes to the road for all three games theyll play this week, starting in Long Beach on Wednesday night at 7:00pm. The Condors have a record of 8-2-1 against Long Beach, including a 3-1 record at the Long Beach Arena. They have taken five straight wins in the season series by a combined score of 28-9. The Condors Coachs Show will take place on this night, as Thursday is a travel day for the team. It will air from Long Beach at 6:00pm as part of an extended Condors Countdown.

They will then head to Anchorage for a pair with the Aces on Friday and Saturday night, both 8:00pm starts (PST). Bakersfield has a record of 3-3-4 in the series. All games, home and away, can be heard live on KGEO AM 1230, with Condors Countdown starting 15 minutes prior to game time. Condors Broadcaster Kevin Bartl handles the play-by-play.

Bakersfield returns home for Student I.D. Night/Mardi Gras celebration on Tuesday, March 4th against the Fresno Falcons. WB 12 and KISS 96.5 present the last Student I.D. Night of the season, which allows all college and high school students to purchase lower level seats for just $1. The first 1,000 fans will also receive a set of Mardi Gras beads, sponsored by FOX 98.5 and Prime Cut.

Individual tickets can be purchased at the Centennial Garden Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 322-2525, online at ticketmaster.com or stopping by any Ticketmaster location. Season and group tickets may be purchased by calling 324-PUCK (7825) or by visiting the Condors office next to Centennial Garden.

Notes

· Jamie Cookes performance on Sunday was the first four-goal effort from a Condor since Paul Willett on Halloween, 1999.

· Jason Ralph recorded back-to-back three point games on Friday and Saturday.

· Nate Anderson has a point in four straight games, and six of the last seven games. He is third in points among WCHL rookies.

· Prior to this season, Bakersfield had won in San Diego just four times in the history of the franchise. They will finish this season with a 4-3 record at the San Diego Sports Arena.

· Bakersfield has put up at least 40 shots in three straight games and five of the past six.

· The Condors are ranked #12 on the inthecrease.com National AA Internet poll.

Quotes of the Week

It was a good night to have a good night   Condors winger Jamie Cooke, on scoring four goals in a 6-2 win on Sunday against the Gulls to put Bakersfield back into second place.

Id say, about the first 10 minutes, my legs were a little shaky.  Condors goaltender Beau Fritz, who made his first pro start on Saturday night, a 5-2 win over Long Beach.